Of Love and War
by snarryvampluver33
Summary: A story in which Harry is a Shapeshifter and Snape is his mate. I suck at summaries, so read the story to find out what it's about. WARNINGS: this story is male/male and there will be some explicit sex scenes so if that's not your thing, then don't read it!
1. The Beginning

Harry woke slowly, trying to remember why he was on the floor in his bedroom. With a groan of pain, he pushed himself up into a sitting position as he remember his Uncle's latest beating. Somehow Dudley had found out that Harry was gay and he let it slip to the older Dursley. Vernon had been furious and he dragged Harry up to his room and proceeded to beat the poor boy within an inch of his life. Harry slowly stood up and winced as he put pressure on his damaged right ankle.

While Harry had been unconscious, he had turned 17, the legal age to do magic outside of school. He listened at the door for any indication that his relatives were home. When he heard nothing, he turned to his trunk. The wand that his Uncle had taken from him was a fake one and had probably turned into a rubber chicken by now. He rummaged around in his trunk and found his wand.

In order to cast the spell he wanted, he had to focus on a happy memory. He went through a few, including the night he killed Voldemort and the day he had spent at The Burrow. He settled on the memory of finding out his mate was alive and well. He smiled as he cast the Patronus spell. When the stag formed, it looked at him.

"Headmaster I'm too injured to heal myself and if my Uncle comes for another beating, I most likely will not survive it. Please sir. I need you Headmaster. I don't want to die."

The stag nodded and jumped out of the open window. Harry gripped his wand tightly as he heard his Uncle's car in the driveway. He placed his wand back in his trunk and shut the lid, casting a wand less locking spell on it. He then laid down in the same spot and same exact way he had woken up in, allowing his mental barriers against the pain to fall. As he heard heavy footsteps on the stairs, he closed his eyes and prayed that the Headmaster would arrive soon.

As his bedroom door opened, a loud crack was heard and Severus Snape stood in the middle of Harry's bedroom. Harry breathed a silent sigh of relief through the pain as the comforting thought of his Uncle being punished passed through his mind.

Vernon was purple in the face and started towards Severus, but Severus pointed his wand at the whale of a man. He knelt down next to Harry and Vernon started to walk towards them but Severus gave him an icy glare.

"One more step and I will blast you into next week." Vernon stopped in his tracks, fearful of what Severus would do to him. The Headmaster turned his attention back to Harry. He slowly rolled him onto his back and felt for a pulse.

"Harry if you can hear me, open your eyes." Harry did so and met Severus' gaze with pain filled emerald eyes.

"Do not speak yet or try to move," he instructed the injured boy. "Now did your Uncle do this to you? Blink once for yes and twice for no." Harry blinked once and rage filled the Potions Master.

He turned a death glare to the whale. "What did this boy do to suffer a beating at your hands?" He asked coldly, his wand gripped tightly at his side as he stood to face the man.

"He's a poof." Vernon snarled. "My son heard him moaning pleasurably in his sleep about some guy named Sev last night. I had to teach him that being a poof is as unnatural as magic and that he had to learn his place."

Harry blushed and turned his head away from the two men in the room as he realized just what dream he had been having when Dudley heard him.

"He is coming with me. He is no longer under your care now that he is 17. Now get out of here before I hex you."

"Fine. Take the freak. We never wanted him in the first place." Vernon said and shut the door. The sound of footsteps receded and Harry moaned in pain as he tried to take a deep breath.

"Harry are all of your belongings in this room?" Harry nodded slightly and Severus waved his wand and all of Harry's things were packed into his rucksack. He shrunk Harry's bag and trunk and placed them in his pockets.

"Can you stand Harry?"

Harry blinked twice and Severus sighed softly.

"Then I will carry you. Wrap your arms around my neck if you can and I will portkey us to my quarters." Harry simply nodded and did as he was told. Snape mumbled something and Harry felt the familiar tug behind his navel as the portkey whisked them off to Hogwarts.

Severus didn't stumble the slightest bit when they landed. He laid Harry down on the couch and Harry moaned in pain again. The Headmaster summoned some potions from his personal stores and encouraged Harry to drink a pain relief potion.

Harry sighed as the potion took effect and he was able to breath a little easier. Severus pulled out his wand and pointed it at Harry's chest. Harry looked at the man fearfully.

"I am not going to harm you Mr. Potter. I would have thought that after all the missions we were paired together on that you had learned to trust me." Severus said when he saw harry's look.

Harry blushed and looked down at his hands. "Sorry Sir." He mumbled. He thought back on those times when Dumbledore was still alive and had forced Severus and Harry to be partners on their missions. Different scenes flashed in his mind as Severus performed a spell that would tell him all of Harry's injuries.

The scene that kept playing in Harry's head was of when he and Severus had stopped for the night on one of their last missions. They had pitched the tent and Severus performed that many wards to keep unwanted people away from them. Harry was cooking dinner and decided to tell Severus of his past for he was tired of all the snide remarks and scathing looks he received from the older man.

As they finished their meal, Harry began to tell Severus of the abuse he had suffered as a child. He showed him the many scars that littered his body from all the beatings, including the word "FREAK" that had been carved into his back. From then on, Severus had treated Harry as an equal for he no longer saw Harry as his school rival's son.

Harry was roused from his thoughts as the Headmaster gasped in shock after reading the list of injuries. He grimaced at the thought of all he had suffered.

"Mr. Potter, you have three ruptured discs in your mid back, almost every rib is either broken or fractured, and your right ankle is badly broken. You don't have any internal bleeding, but several organs are bruised."

Harry winced as the list was read to him. "Damn, I must have blocked the pain out when I sent you my patronus."

"Language Mr. Potter." Harry ducked his head sheepishly. Severus grabbed several vials from the table and handed them to Harry. He drank them without question for he knew Severus would tell him what they were.

"Blood Replenisher, Bone Mender, and an ingestible Bruise Salve that will heal your organs." Severus told him as each one went down Harry's throat. Harry fought back a yawn, but lost the battle. His eyes began to droop closed and Severus sighed.

"Come with me Mr. Potter." Severus said as he helped Harry to stand up. Severus led him up the stairs and into his personal quarters. He transfigured their clothes into sleepwear and ushered Harry into the extra bedroom. Harry was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

"Good night Harry." Severus whispered as he shut the door and went into his own bedroom. He sighed as he climbed into bed and he too drifted off into the land of dreams.

**AN: **Okay so I started this months ago, but life got in the way. Anyways, reviews are love, even if they are flames. Also, I'm going to need some song suggestions. I wanna include a choir and make Harry their best performer, so any help with songs would be great!


	2. Confessions and Memories

**An: **Sorry for the delay guys! Don't shoot me, life just got in the way! Thanks for all the reviews, favorites, and follows. Also I still need some song suggestions so if you're interested in helping me, please let me know. Also I forgot to mention the disclaimer in the last chapter, so I'll just do it now. DISCLAIMER: Any recognizable characters, or places from the HP books are not mine! Only the plot is mine.

Marifw: thank you for the review. And yes, there will be punishment for the Dursley's. I'm not sure what it will be just yet 'cause I'm writing this as I go. However, it will be in the next couple of chapters that they get punished for doing what they did to poor Harry.

Severus woke up the next morning with a comfortable weight on his chest. He could feel soft hair tickling his chin as he breathed. He opened his eyes and looked down to see Harry still fast asleep using his chest as a pillow. Confusion made him bunch up his eyebrows as he tried to think of why the boy was hugging him like a teddy bear.

He looked around the room and realized he wasn't even in his own bedroom. He thought back on the night before to try and figure out why he was in Harry's room. 'Oh right. The nightmare,' he thought to himself.

_**Flashback**_

_ Severus was almost asleep when a scream in the night jolted him awake. He leapt to his feet and ran out of his room, wand in hand, not caring he was only in a pair of pajama pants._

_ The screams were coming from Harry's room. Severus threw the door open and saw Harry tossing on his bed deep in the throes of a nightmare. Severus rushed to the bed and did the only thing he could. He grabbed Harry in a tight embrace and rocked him back and forth, calming the boy as he did so. Harry had a firm grip on Severus and wouldn't let go, so Severus laid down and pulled the covers over them. He drifted off to sleep to the sound of Harry's even breathing._

_**End Flashback**_

Harry shifted in Severus' arms as he slowly woke up. Harry felt warm arms tighten around him and he sighed in happiness. He was finally with his mate and he never wanted to let go. He felt Severus kiss the top of his head. He looked up at the older wizard and smiled. Severus smiled softly back. "How are you feeling?" He asked the boy in his arms.

"Better now that you helped me." Harry said softly.

"Would you like to talk about your dream?" Severus asked as he pulled the both of them into a sitting position.

"Not really, but I need to," harry sighed as he leaned his head against Severus' shoulder. He got lost in his thoughts for a moment so Severus stayed quiet knowing an explanation would cone soon.

_**Flashback**_

_ Severus and Harry were on another mission. This time they were in a hotel and shared a room. Harry had had a nightmare and Severus held him as they slept afterwards. They woke up the next morning with erections and that's when Harry admitted his feeling for the older man. Severus admitted to the same feelings but told him that they'd have to wait until the war was over in order to have a relationship._

_**End Flashback**_

Harry took a deep breath before talking. "My dream is the same one of being captured and tortured, but there's a new element there... You ."

"What am I doing in the dream?" Severus asked

"Nothing. You're laying on the floor in front of me, dead." Harry said sadly. "Sir, there's something you need to know about me. I'm a shapeshifter."

Severus gasped softly and shock made his jaw go slack. He looks down at the boy in his arms, surprise written all over his face.

"Also, you're my mate." Harry said, though his voice was muffled because his face was buried in Severus' chest. Severus rolled them over so that he was above Harry. He supported his weight on his arms and looked him in the eye.

"How do you know?" He whispered softly, his eyes swam with emotions to fast for Harry to read what they were.

"I received my inheritance on my 16th birthday and since then I've found out that you are my mate. It's a good thing we already have feelings for each other, otherwise it'd be hard to convince you of the mate thing." Harry smiled at the Headmaster.

"Do your friends know of this?"

"No they don't. They'll find out eventually though. Then Ron will most likely yell at me for not telling them and 'Mione will go and read everything she can about shapeshifters."

"There's not much known about them. Shapeshifters are created by Mother Nature when she feels that she must step into the life of an unborn baby. Mother Nature looks into the future of said child and she gives the gene to the child two months before it is born. There hasn't been a shapeshifter for almost a century."

"I know. Gringotts sent me their information on my kind after my first transformation. I can only shift into animals that I have seen in person and the more I change forms into that animal, the quicker I become. Eventually I can change forms mid-stride which can help me get out of any situations should a Death Eater be chasing me."

"That is much like animagus transformations." Severus commented. He rolled back onto his side and pulled Harry to him. Harry just smiled at him and snuggled into the warm embrace. His stomach rumbled and he blushed.

Severus chuckled. "Time to get up Harry."

Harry sighed. "Where's my trunk?" He asked when he sat up an looked around. Severus summoned his trunk and rucksack. He enlarged them both, then left Harry to get ready for the day.

Once Harry was dressed, he followed his nose to the Headmaster's kitchen and watched Severus as he prepared breakfast. Severus was now in a pair of dark blue muggle jeans and a black t-shirt. Harry wore his school trousers and a loose fitting emerald green shirt. Severus finished with cooking and set out plates, cups, silverware, and napkins for them. He and Harry sat down and ate their food in silence.

After they finished, Severus sent the dishes to the castle's kitchens to be cleaned. Harry sipped his morning tea silently and looked about the kitchen.

"If you have any school assignments, you can complete them in the study." Harry nodded and they both stood up. Severus led Harry through his quarters, stopping by Harry's room do he could gather his school things, to his study.

"You can work here at the desk. I have some potions to work on so if you get hungry, just call a House Elf." Again Harry nodded and set up his assignments that he would be working on. Severus left the study and went down the hall to his potions lab.

That was how many of the days went. Harry and Severus would sleep in the same bed (no sex for Harry was not ready for that), Severus would cook breakfast and afterwards, Harry would work on his homework until lunch and Severus would work in his potions. After lunch, they would go back to the study and either talk for a while or read a book.


	3. Songs and Things

**AN:** Thanks again for the faves and follows!

**Disclaimer: All characters and places belong to H.K. Rowling. The songs are not mine either. "You Find Out Who Your Friends Are" is copyrighted to Tracey Lawrence and his production company; "What A Wonderful World" is copyrighted to Louis Armstrong and his production company. **

**Marifw**: thanks for the song suggestion! I'll use it in a couple chapters once the school choir has been established. I have a billy joel song i plan on using as well. And there will be more info in the next couple chapters on shapeshifters too. I'm not sure how to answer the other questions cause i haven't gotten that far in the plot yet. Thanks for reviewing by the way!

It had been two weeks since Harry had been picked up from the Dursley's. He decided it was time he picked up playing his guitar again, now that all of his summer assignments were finished. He went to his room after breakfast and grabbed his guitar from the secret compartment in his trunk.

Severus was on his way to his study when he heard Harry strumming on his guitar. He stopped and listened as Harry played a few chords and did some vocal exercises to warm up before launching into a song. He stood stock still and listened to the song Harry sang.

Meanwhile in Harry's bedroom: Harry had his eyes closed and started playing the first song that came to mind. It was a muggle country song but he'd heard it often enough to play it and then the lyrics came to him.

_**"Run your car off the side of the road  
Get stuck in a ditch way out in the middle of nowhere  
Or get yourself in a bind lose the shirt off your back  
Need a floor, need a couch, need a bus fare**_

_**This is where the rubber meets the road  
This is where the cream is gonna rise  
This is what you really didn't know  
This is where the truth don't lie**_

_**You find out who your friends are  
Somebody's gonna drop everything  
Run out and crank up their car  
Hit the gas, get there fast  
Never stop to think 'what's in it for me?' or 'it's way too far'  
They just show on up with their big old heart  
You find out who your friends are**_

_**Everybody wants to slap your back  
wants to shake your hand  
when you're up on top of that mountain  
But let one of those rocks give way then you slide back down look up  
and see who's around then**_

_**This ain't where the road comes to an end  
This ain't where the bandwagon stops  
This is just one of those times when  
A lot of folks jump off**_

_**You find out who your friends are  
Somebody's gonna drop everything  
Run out and crank up their car  
Hit the gas, get there fast  
Never stop to think 'what's in it for me?' or 'it's way too far'  
They just show on up with their big old heart  
You find out who your friends are**_

_**When the water's high  
When the weather's not so fair  
When the well runs dry  
Who's gonna be there?**_

_**You find out who your friends are  
Somebody's gonna drop everything  
Run out and crank up their car  
Hit the gas, get there fast  
Never stop to think 'what's in it for me?' or 'it's way too far'  
They just show on up with their big old heart  
You find out who your friends are**_

_**You find out who your friends are  
(yeah, yeah)  
You find out who your friends are**_

_**Run your car off the side of the road  
Get stuck in a ditch way out in the middle of nowhere  
(Well man, I've been there)  
Or get yourself in a bind lose the shirt off your back  
Need a floor, need a couch, need a bus fare  
(Man, I've been there)**_

_**Man, I've been there  
Oooh yeah."**_

Severus debated on knocking on Harry's door. He gave in to the urge to knock and heard Harry scrambling off the bed as he did so. Harry opened the door and immediately blushed at the look on his mate's face.

"I'm guessing you heard me?" Harry asked sheepishly and looked at the floor.

"I did. You are quite good. You should join the choir. Professor Flitwick will be holding auditions on the first Saturday of september if you are interested." Severus said once he got his voice back. Again Harry blushed.

"I did not recognize the song though."

"Um... Yeah. It's a muggle country song that I heard quite a lot this summer cause Dudley kept blasting it through his stereo system."

"As I said, you should think of joining the choir."

"Do you play an instrument Sev?" Harry tilted his head curiously.

"I do. Would you like to play something with me?" Harry nodded enthusiastically at the question. "Then grab your guitar and met me in the study."

Harry did not answer verbally, he just ran to his bed and put his guitar into its case so he didn't damage it. He grabbed his capo and walked down the hall to the study. Severus was waiting for him and led him through another door that had been hidden behind a bookcase before.

Harry gaped at the instrument in the middle of the room. A shiny black, grand piano with a matching shiny black bench sat bathed in sunlight.

"There is a spell to keep the paint from fading while in the sun. And stop staring Harry, it is unbecoming of you." Severus chuckled when he saw that Harry had not moved from the door way. He slowly walked into the room as Severus lifted the cover on the keys. He played a few keys, a look of pure joy on his face as he sat down on the bench. Harry conjured a chair and sat near Severus. He pulled the guitar from the case and settled it comfortably on his thigh as he pulled the shoulder strap on.

"This is a song that I have been working on for awhile. It is not finished yet; however, perhaps you could help me." Severus said as Harry looked at the sheet music over his shoulder.

Harry gave him a nod and Severus played the melody as an introduction. When Severus began to sing, Harry harmonized with the melody.

**_"I see trees of green,  
red roses too.  
I see them bloom,  
for me and you.  
And I think to myself,  
what a wonderful world._**

**_I see skies of blue,  
And clouds of white.  
The bright blessed day,  
The dark sacred night.  
And I think to myself,  
What a wonderful world._**

**_The colors of the rainbow,  
So pretty in the sky.  
Are also on the faces,  
Of people going by,  
I see friends shaking hands.  
Saying, "How do you do?"  
They're really saying,  
"I love you"._**

**_I hear babies cry,  
I watch them grow,  
They'll learn much more,  
Than I'll ever know.  
And I think to myself,  
What a wonderful world._**

**_(Severus stopped singing and just played a solo, as Harry softly played the melody)_**

**_Yes, I think to myself,  
What a wonderful world._**

**_Oh yeah."_**

Harry smiled as the last notes faded to silence. Severus' eyes were closed and his expression was unreadable. Harry quietly put his guitar back in its case and stood up. He straddled Severus' legs, which startled Severus from his thoughts. He leaned in and kissed Severus softly on the lips. He broke away after a few seconds. And rested his forehead against his mate's.

"That was a beautiful song Sev." Harry said as he caught his breath. It may have been a short kiss, but it was their first.

"Thank you. That means a lot to me." Severus said before he kissed Harry again. The kiss was full of love and passion and Severus swiped his tongue along Harry's bottom lip, asking for entrance. Harry opened his mouth and let his mate dominate the kiss. Severus mapped out Harry's mouth with his tongue, drawing moans from the boy between him and the piano. He pulled away for air and smiled.

"Shall we take this to the bedroom?" Severus asked as he took in the the boy in front of him. Harry was flushed with arousal and hadn't gotten his breath back, so he just nodded and wrapped his legs around Severus' waist. Severus stood and left the piano room.

**AN: **It's a cliffie. sorry. I'm too tired to write any more. Please review. Reviews feed my muse and if my muse is not fed, the story dies. So please review! You can ask questions, make comments on how something is written, or tell me I made a mistake. Just please review! Thanks!


	4. The Apprenticeship

**AN:** I made some minor corrections to the last chapter. Mainly some typos and stuff. **PLEASE R&R! *kneels down and clasps hands together in the universal begging position* PLEASE?!**

**DISCLAIMER: **HARRY POTTER DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. I GET NO PROFIT FROM WRITING THIS STORY.

ON WITH THE STORY

As soon as the door closed behind them, Severus turned and pressed Harry against the door as he ravished Harry's mouth. Harry thrusted his hips against Severus', drawing a moan from them both at the friction. Severus moved his mouth down Harry's jaw to his neck. He nibbled and sucked on the pulse point as he slowly backed up to the bed.

Severus' knees hit the bed and he sat down; Harry pushed his mate down onto the bed. Severus' mouth was still attached to Harry's neck so he scooted to the middle of the bed and rolled them over. Harry tilted his head to give his love more access as he started unbuttoning Severus's shirt. Soon both of their shirts were off and hands explored the chests in front of them.

**WARNING: LEMON AHEAD (skip to end of lemon if you'd like)**

Severus casted a silent wandless spell and their pants and boxers disappeared. Harry gasped at the feel of Severus' erection against his own and his love took that opportunity to ravish his mouth again. He groaned into the kiss and thrusted against the body beneath him, swallowing the moan that came from the younger wizard. One hand travelled down Harry's neck to his nipples and played with them while he supported his weight with the other. Harry wrapped his arms around his mate's shoulders as his legs wrapped around the waist above him. He tossed his head back when Severus took a nipple into his mouth. His breathing began to get erratic and he was moaning almost constantly.

Severus stopped playing with his nipples and his hand wandered further down over the taut stomach down to the hard cocks sliding against each other with his slow thrusts. He wrapped his hand around them and slowly started to bring them both to release.

"Sev… I'm close… So close." Harry murmured, his eyes half lidded.

"Come for me love." He replied for he was close as well.

Two more pumps of Severus' hand and Harry was crying out in ecstasy. Ropes of pearly white come covered both stomachs. Severus came a couple thrusts later and moaned out Harry's name as his body trembled with the force of his orgasm. His come joined Harry's and he collapsed next to him.

**WARNING: END LEMON**

Harry whispered a cleaning charm and snuggled into Severus' side as his breathing slowed back down to its normal rate. He sighed happily and closed his eyes. Both of them fell asleep after Severus pulled the covers over them.

**BREAK (3 hours later)**

Severus jolted awake when a house elf apparated into the room. Harry mumbled incoherently and turned to the house elf.

"What is it, Toby?" Severus asked, annoyed.

"Mistress McGonagall is wishing to see you sirs."

"Both of us?" Harry asked the elf. The elf just nodded.

"Tell her we'll be down in a few minutes." Severus said.

Toby popped out of the room as the two wizards began to climb out of the bed to get dressed. Harry pulled on a pair of tight fitting jeans and a white collared t-shirt. He pulled on a summer robe and casted a freshening charm on his hair while he waited for Severus to reappear from the bathroom. Severus walked out of the bathroom while buttoning up his robes. Wordlessly, they walked out of the bedroom and down to his office. Minerva was already seated, so Severus sat in the chair behind his desk and Harry wandered over to the fireplace.

"What is so important that you interrupted our nap Minerva?" Severus asked softly.

"As you know, the students will be returning next week. I wondered what you will tell the student body as to the relationship between you and Harry." Minerva replied catching Harry's attention.

"We'll tell them the truth. That is only if you want to Severus." Harry said as he walked over to the Professors.

"I was thinking of telling them that you are my apprentice. That way there will not be as much adversity." Severus looked up at his young lover who was standing beside McGonagall by now.

"Would you really take me on as your apprentice, or would that just be a ruse?" Harry asked, tilting his head to the side

"I intended to ask you to become my apprentice before the other students returned."

"I would love to be your apprentice."

"Now that that's settled, I have lesson plans to review." Professor McGonagall said. She stood up and took her leave, leaving the two men alone again.

Harry's stomach rumbled softly, making his hunger apparent before he could say something. They went back up to their quarters to eat.

**AN: **Sorry it's so short. I didn'tthink it was less than 1,000 words**. **Next time I'll do the beginning of the school year and the choir auditions. Tell me who you want to see in the choir and what songs and/or instruments you want them to play.


End file.
